WINDY 7800
BUILT: 1994 PRICE: £29,995
LENGTH: 25ft 7in (7.8m) BEAM: 8ft 2in (2.5m) DRAFT: 3ft 0in (0.9m) DISPLACEMENT: 2 tonnes FUEL CAPACITY: 298 litres ENGINE: Volvo Penta AD31 150hp diesel engine
Like the Cranchi, the Windy 7800 is very much aimed at the weekender market rather than the cruiser; its setup biased heavily toward style, performance and cockpit space. And there’s nothing wrong with that, especially for a first boat where cruising ambitions are initially likely to be tempered by lack of experience. What you get instead is a fun boat on the water.
INTERIOR Windy has been quite clever with a couple of aspects of the cuddy cabin style interior. Firstly, there’s a huge cutout above the first part of the cabin as you go in, which means that despite the 4ft 6in headroom, you can stand at this end, handy for the compact galley tucked away to port. Directly opposite, a flat worktop lifts through 90 degrees to separate off this corner of the cabin, which houses the sea toilet. There’s a curtain in front of it to preserve a modicum of modesty. Further forward is the usual hoop of dinette with a table that drops to create a double bed.
EXTERIOR Despite being now 30 years old, this is a great looking boat. The hull flares out wonderfully through its forward sections, in the style of a classic Fairey, helping keep the spray down and creating more space above the relatively narrow and therefore easily driven two-metre waterline beam. The sweep of curved screen segues neatly into side sections that shelter a cockpit with a simple layout. Helm to starboard, navigator to port, and pedestal seats that swivel to face the bench seat aft ahead of the sunpad. Pop-up tables on both sides facilitate dining.
PERFORMANCE Windy offered a wide range of engines, from a single 130hp through to a 365hp V8 Mercruiser petrol, and even a twin-engined option. This boat is fitted with an incredibly parsimonious 150hp AQ31, which should push the top speed up towards about 30 knots.
SEAKEEPING We ran one of these 20 miles through long swells decorated with a short chop. We might have expected a wet and bumpy ride but it was nothing of the sort even at high speeds, the boat keeping us dry and comfortable.